The Divide
by CrypticMoonFang
Summary: Inuyasha is a halfdemon that goes to Shikon High School. He doesn't speak much and everyone rejects him solely because of his heritage. Then a new student, Kagome, comes along and is nice to him.
1. Chapter 1

-Chapter 1-

Inuyasha sighed. Summer was over... Now he had to go _back_ to school. As if summer wasn't bad enough.

Inuyasha was a halfdemon. Or, as most called him, a filthy, dirty halfbreed. Others called him a disgrace. Like his older brother, Sesshomaru. And Sesshomaru's friend, Jaken. Both his father and mother had died long ago. His father died soon after he was born. His mother died sometime when he was a little kid. Almost no schools would take him in as a student. All just because of his heredity... The one school that would take him in wasn't the _best_ school ever. Shikon High. That was where he went. By the time he'd go there, he'd be a sophomore. For the majority of his life, he'd taken care of himself and would let everyone pick on him. That was just how he grew up. He never talked to anyone because he was afraid he would say something that would make them angry. Usually, even if it was just a, "Hi." they'd get angry and embarrassed that a halfbreed was speaking to them. Halfdemons were accepted by no race, whether it should be demon or human. Halfdemons weren't even accepted by other halfdemons! They were _always_ brought up knowing they would never be accepted in society. Well, all except for one halfdemon. Jinenchi. He was the only halfdemon ever known to actually try to make friends. He'd get awefully nosy at times and his life ended by being brutally beaten to death. There wasn't a single halfdemon who didn't know about Jinenchi. He and his life were a warning to all halfdemons that, if they should try to fit in or meddle, they would most certainly be killed.

Inuyasha grew up on that story. His mother never taught it to him, but he overheard two people talking about it one day and from then on out decided never to speak to anyone.

When he was little, kids always teased him and ridiculed him. At the time, he didn't get it. But now that he was older, he realized what all those wedgies were for. Ever since his mother died, he'd never had anyone love him. He was so unloved, he never even had a _home_ since his mom died.

At school, everyone immediately started the barrage of names and punches and teasings and other things.

This would be the exact reason he grew up never trusting a single soul.

A wolf demon called Kouga came up to him. "Hey, halfbreed! Be sure not freak out the new student, okay? You've already freaked out half the school."

Inuyasha was almost afraid to nod his head, so he just stood and looked at Kouga with understanding eyes. Eyes that said, "Understood!"

As Kouga walked away, content with seeing Inuyasha in so much pain, Inuyasha thought, 'A new student? Well, it _is_ a new year... But this isn't a new school. It's pretty uncommon for a new student to come here. I wonder what they're like... I hope they're the teasing type. I don't like getting beat up.'

The bell rang at that moment, interrupting his thoughts.

In the first class of the first year, the teacher announced the new student. "Class! CLASS!!!" he said, trying to get their attention, "This lovely young lady here is a human. Her name is Kagome Higurashi. She's the daughter of the Higurashi family. They own and care for the Higurashi Shrine." Then he turned to Kagome, "Mrs. Higurashi, you may call me Myoga. I'm a flea demon. But don't squish me!"

"Thank you, Mr. Myoga! Where do I sit?"

"Oh-ho-ho-ho! You may sit wherever you wish, Kagome! And, as an added bonus, in this school you get to choose who you want to show you around! But, the only catch is, you have to pick someone that has the same schedule as you do, that way your classes won't be interrupted."

"Hm... I get to choose, huh? Let's see..." then she noticed one boy whom nobody was sitting near. There were several desks that were empty around him. 'Wow... He's got super cute little dog ears! He must be a demon.' thought Kagome.

Myoga saw her staring in wonder at Inuyasha. "Um..." he said, "Miss, are you wondering about that fellow over there?"

"Oh! I'm sorry! No, not really. I was just wondering why there are so many empty desks around him."

"I-I'm not too sure myself... I don't think anyone really likes him. It must be because he's mean to them or something." Myoga answered.

"Oh..." and here she thought he was cute, too.

"Hey! Kagome! You can sit next to me! I'll protect you from him!" Kouga yelled out.

"No way! I'm stronger! I can protect you much better!" Bankotsu yelled.

'Well, there_ is_ an empty desk next to them...' she thought.

Inuyasha was still staring outside. His desk was right in front of a window, so he considered himself lucky, at least in that way.

Kagome still looked at him, though. Even though he wasn't looking at her. 'Still,' she thought, 'I do kinda feel bad for him. But, if he's mean to people... Maybe I shouldn't be near him.'

The bell rang again.

"Oh! I forgot, sorry class! It's a half day!" Myoga announced. Then he turned to Kagome. "Why don't you at least choose who'll show you around the school? You can pick your seat tomorrow."

"Thanks, Mr. Myoga!"

"Hehehe! No problem!"

'Maybe this is my chance! I can see if he really is mean or not!' she thought.

Inuyasha felt someone tapping him lightly on the shoulder. He turned around to find probably the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

Kagome heard a series of gasps as she was tapping him. She turned around and found all the students staring at her with an astonished look on their faces.

"What? Did I do something wrong?" she timidly asked.

"Heck yeah! You just touched that thing!" Bankotsu shouted.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't know..."

"Dear Kagome, let me tell you a little something about him. That 'thing' is nothing more than a filthy mutt that the school picked up off the streets." Kouga informed her.

Inuyasha got up and started to walk out the door. But he was stopped by a "Hey, wait!"

Kagome ran up to him. "I decided that I want _you_ to show me around."

Another series of gasps and one yelp went around the room.

"Wh-What did I do this time?"

"Y-You gotta be kidding! That ugly halfbreed shouldn't be allowed to even live! Much less have a friend!" Kouga once more informed her.

"He's a...halfdemon?" Kagome wondered.

Inuyasha started to take a step but Kagome grabbed hold of his arm.

"So you mean to tell me that _he's_," Kagome pointed to him with her free hand, "a halfdemon?"

"Tsh. Yeah."

"And is that why you're mean to him?"

"Well, _duh_!"

"What kind of demon is he?"

"He's half human and half dog demon. Why?"

"D-Did you... just say..._dog_ demon?!" Kagome said in an alarmed voice.

"Yes. What? Has that mutt already done something to you?"

Kagome took a few steps back from Inuyasha. "Um... Well... I just, uhm... I'm scared of dogs!"


	2. Chapter 2

-Chapter 2-

Kouga came up and put a hand on Kagome's shoulder. "Don't worry, Kagome," he said, "I'll protect you from that mutt."

"Oh, uh... No, no... I'm fine! Really!" she insisted. "Besides...Inuyasha still has to-" Kagome looked around. He wasn't there... "Where'd he go?"

"Psh! So the mutt _does_ have some sense in him! He probably went back home."

Kouga and his groupies ran out the door, saying, "That halfbreed's gonna get what's coming to him!"

Kagome was walking home that day. And what a long, strange half day it'd been! She'd only _heard_ of halfdemons. She'd never actually seen one or known one up close and personal. Suddenly, she heard a cry. She ran to see what was going on. But, by the time she got to her destination, it was too late. The culprits had already left. Or fled, or whatever they'd done...

"H-Hey! Are you okay?!" she panicked when she saw a boy just getting up from the hard concrete. There was blood all over him and all over the ground and even still dripping from him.

The boy turned to look at her.

'Is that...? Is that that halfdemon boy...?' Kagome thought.

He turned to leave.

"WAIT!!!" she was pretty darn frustrated now.

Inuyasha turned back around. He was thinking, 'Great... A double whammy...'

"You're hurt... Did you get into a fight?" she asked, a little worried.

Inuyasha just stared at her in complete disbelief. He was now thinking, 'Well, this is certainly a change.'

"Wait right here! I'll go get my first-aid kit!" she said, then she was gone.

After she was completely out of sight and earshot, he extremely quietly muttered, "Hm." He decided to sit down and wait for her to come back. That is, if she _would_. So many people hated him for the wrong reason. And it was totally ridiculous! 'Why can't human, demons _and_ halfdemons get along? Or...is it impossible? Is it impossible for them to coexist? And halfdemons. Why was I cursed as one?' Inuyasha thought. He continued deep in his thoughts until Kagome came back, with the first-aid kit in hand.

"You know," she said as she was applying bandages and band-aids, "I really am scared of dogs."

Inuyasha looked at her with his deep, amber eyes.

"But..." she continued, "There was this one time-" She put a bandage roll in her mouth while she worked with her other two hands to wrap a bandage around a bloodied bruise on his lower arm, "-I found a stray dog that had been injured really badly. No one else but me was there to help him. He was just laying there in the road, kind of like you were. Except you were on concrete. Anyway, he was so pitiful. I-I just couldn't resist helping him out. He was unconscious at the time, so he probably didn't remember anything as far as treatment. I fixed him up a little, you know, bandaged him and all that. And when he was strong enough to walk, I asked my parents if I could keep him. At the time, we had a fenced-in yard, so they said 'yes' on two conditions." Kagome looked bashfully at him, "Um... halfdemon, I need you to take off your shirt."

Inuyasha blushed three shades of red.

"It's for the other wounds you might have...so..."

Inuyasha proceeded to take off his shirt. But when it was finally off, he blushed even worse than before.

Kagome was no different. As soon as she saw his eight-pack, she immediately thought, 'Oh! W-Wow! Such a hottie! Wonder how many guys like him there are! I'll take 'em all!' And then she turned her attention to his biceps and might as well have drooled.

She started applying more bandages to his body. "As I was saying-" she looked back up at him, "This'll sting, but keep holding still, okay?" then her attention was turned back to helping him address his wounds, "Okay, as I was saying, the conditions were: he had to be an outside dog, and I had to take full responsibility for him. I accepted both of the conditions, without thinking. Even back then I was still scared of dogs, but I could tolerate them to a certain extent. So for a few days I was taking care of the dog. I fed it, brushed it, walked it, and even bathed it. But, one day...the dog, for some unknown reason, leapt up and bit my neck. I had to have thirteen stitches in my neck because of that bite. It's really hard to see, but I still have a scar from it. Ever since that day, I've been terrified of all dogs. To me they're fearsome creatures, even though they're called 'man's best friend'."

By now, Inuyasha couldn't help but wondering where she was going with all this.

"I-I'm really sorry if I upset you, halfdemon. I didn't mean to, that kind of fear just comes naturally to me," she finished.

Inuyasha so very badly wanted to tell her that it was okay, that she didn't do anything he wasn't already used to. He wanted to reach over and hug her, console her. Or at least to lay a hand on her shoulder. But then she might just get mad at him for touching or talking to her. And the last thing he wanted to do was make her mad.

"I have a question, though. What's your name? I can't keep calling you 'halfdemon' forever, you know."

Inuyasha looked at her and thought, 'Sure you can. It's better than any other name I've been called.'

"Or... _can_ you speak at all? Are you mute?"

Inuyasha searched for an answer. He eventually found a stray piece of one of those rocks that you can draw with. He picked it up and wrote on the sidewalk, "My name is Inuyasha."

"So you can't speak..."

He wrote, "No, no! I can. I'm not mute."

"Then why won't you talk to me? Do you dislike me?" Kagome gasped, "Is it what I said earlier?! I told you, I'm-" Kagome stopped herself when she noticed he was writing again.

The words formed on the sidewalk were, "I don't dislike you at all. But... Aren't you mad at me or something?"

"Mad? Why would I be mad? What's there to be mad about?"

Inuyasha's reply was, once again written down. "You mean you aren't mad? Why aren't you mad?"

"That's a little weird... I just said there wasn't anything to be mad about. And, no, I'm not mad."

He wrote, "But I'm communicating with you. Doesn't that make you want to rip my guts out or something like that?"

"Um... No. No gut-ripping feeling here. Why would someone want to do that, anyway?"

"Because I'm a dirty mutt. A half breed. A disgrace to both demons and humans."


	3. Chapter 3

-Chapter 3-

"W-WHAT?!?!?! INUYASHA!!! NO YOU AREN'T!" Kagome took a few seconds to calm herself down before continuing, "No one should be thinking of themselves like that, Inuyasha. Not me, not that wolf demon, not Mr. Myoga, Not that weird-looking human, not anyone! You shouldn't put yourself down like this!"

"...I have no choice, though."

"And will you stop writing and just talk already?!"

"I can't. I'm sorry."

"Why not? Isn't writing in itself a form of talking?"

Inuyasha looked down to the ground for a few minutes before bounding off. 'She... She just doesn't understand. I don't want her life to be miserable, though... No one's ever been that kind to me before. But... In order for her to be happy, and in order for her life to be tease-free, I have to stay away from her.'

"O-Oh no... I overdid it... He's mad at me now... Is there something I'm missing?" Kagome wondered aloud.

The next day at Shikon High School...

"Ah. Kagome, welcome back. Pick your seat." Myoga instructed.

Kagome walked over and sat down to the seat next to Inuyasha's.

Gasps, over dramatic yelps, and a few whispers here and there signaled that nobody in the class was too keen on that idea.

Later that same day...

"Okay, then. That just about wraps up today's Algebra lesson. Lunch time, now! Which one of you would be honored to serve me up some nice, piping hot blood, hm?" Myoga the flea demon said.

Everyone but Kagome and Inuyasha, and a few other students, flew out the door in a rush to get what they wanted before someone else took all of it. That was just how it was in the cafeteria. Inuyasha, on the other hand, got up slowly and walked out of the classroom. Kagome followed in secret, still trying to figure him out. Inuyasha was walking down the hallway leading to the school's front doors.

'Where's he going?' she thought, careful to be extremely silent.

After Inuyasha was out of the building, Kagome was, too. The both of them walked and walked until each heard Inuyasha's stomach growl like a lion.

Kagome was the first to take action and hid, still watching Inuyasha very closely.

Inuyasha kneeled on all fours and started sniffing the ground, moving around occasionally. There were a ton of scents to sift through. Eventually he got up and sniffed the air for awhile.

Kagome watched as he sauntered over to a nearby dumpster. He reached in in search of something. After rummaging around for a bit, he pulled out a leftover, half-eaten piece of bread. He sat down and looked around really fast before eating it.

'Why doesn't he get lunch like everyone else?' she thought. 'Why does it have to be a _dumpster_?'

Inuyasha, after he was done with his bread, sniffed the air once more when a wind blew. He stiffened, knowing who it was. Ever since he first saw her, he'd memorized her scent.

'Uh-oh... Did he notice me?' she thought.

Inuyasha walked over to the tree she was hiding behind. It was a beautiful cherry blossom tree. The petals from the flowers were in bloom and it seemed as though they were eternally falling, like pretty pink snow. There were a few dewdrops left on the falling petals, from the heavy rain that had previously occurred. The sun's rays were reflected by the drops, making them shine in many different colors. He jumped up and landed softly but swiftly on a branch of the tree right above Kagome.

Kagome looked up, knowing she'd been discovered. "Oh, uh. Hey." she said quietly.

Inuyasha still didn't speak, but looked down at her.

"Hey! You filthy halfbreed! Get out of my tree!" an angry apartment-dweller yelled. He threw an apple at him.

Inuyasha saw the apple coming and caught it before it could hit him.

Kagome's stomach growled at that instant. She blushed, as she always did when her stomach growled. She didn't know why she blushed; it wasn't anything to be embarrassed over. But she couldn't stop it from sneaking into her cheeks.

Inuyasha looked at the apple he held, and then at Kagome. He held out the apple in front of her, beckoning her to take it.

"Huh? No, it's okay! I'm fine! You can have it." she said. But her stomach wasn't so keen on that and growled again, louder this time.

He waved it in her face, practically _insisting_ that she eat it.

When her stomach growled yet _again_, she said, "Um... Why don't we split it?"

He pulled the apple closer to him. His nails grew much longer and he sliced through the apple with ease, splitting it in half. He held one of the two halves out to her, and kept the other one for himself.

"Thanks. Oh! That reminds me!" she said as she took the half of the apple, "I have a boxed lunch back in the classroom. Wanna share it?"

He just looked at her. He really did _look_ hungry, so Kagome took it as a yes. She ran back to the school to get her lunch.

Inuyasha waited until she came back. "Okay! I'm back!" he heard her call out.

She sat down on the ground. "I brought an extra pair of chopsticks. I always do that, in case I were ever to drop the ones I'm using on the ground." She patted the ground beside her, the body language that said, "Sit here."

He jumped down from the cherry blossom tree and sat down right beside her.

"Here." She handed him a pair of chopsticks. "Today I have some re-fried noodles. Do you like those? I also packed some onagi, in case of midday hunger."

He took the pair of chopsticks and tried his had at working with them. No use...

"You don't know how to use chopsticks, Inuyasha? Here, you take the upper one and hold it still. Then you take these two finger to hold the bottom one. You have to use the bottom one to get the food, while the top one serves as a base or something."

Beads of sweat appeared on his head as he tried to do what she told him to. No use...

Kagome took his hands, while blushing, and helped him get some of the noodles. But she found that really hard and she almost dropped the chopsticks. So instead, she used her own chopsticks and fed him some of the re-fried noodles.

Inuyasha was almost taken aback by her patience with him. Anyone else wouldn't ever even _think_ of helping him, let alone feeding him! And, this girl,Kagome, was even offering him her lunch! He wished everyone was like her... It was so obvious that she didn't care if he was full demon or half demon or human.

"Well, does it taste good? I didn't work very hard on it. And...I'm not that good at cooking, but-"

Inuyasha tried to grab some more of the noodles. Best thing he'd ever tasted. A heavenly taste to his tastebuds!

"Well, okay, then. I guess now we know you like them!" Kagome smiled. Nobody ever wanted _more_ of her cooking before!

The rest of lunchtime, for the two, was spent eating re-fried noodles and onagi. Inuyasha loved the onagi.

A/N

These are just some notes about the food I put in the last bit of the chapter:

*Re-fried noodles-Noodles that have been simmered in a special Japanese sauce for an hour to an hour or so. They are then re-fried if there are noodles left over.

*Onagi-A ball (or balls) of rice covered in hardened bean paste. It's usually used as a snack food.


	4. Chapter 4

-Chapter 4-

After school that day...

Inuyasha got up, gathering his things before leaving.

"Hey, wait, Inuyasha!" Kagome said after catching up to him. "What kind of a man leaves a girl to walk home, all alone in the cold, hardened, dark, and sometimes miserable world?!"

Inuyasha blushed in response.

"So, uh... Aren't you going to walk me home or something?" she persisted.

This alone made him blush even more.

"Aw, c'mon. It's just as friends! It's not like we're going out or anything!" she said. Then, as though to _prove_ to him that she wanted him to walk her home, she grabbed hold of his upper arm and pretty much dragged him out the school. 'I'm still extremely scared of dogs... But I've heard they usually weren't all bad... Oh... What should I do?! I can't just abandon the poor guy!' she thought.

Once they were outside, Inuyasha was the one to take the lead and started walking _her_, instead of the other way around.

"Thanks, Inuyasha." Kagome softly thanked him.

Inuyasha did nothing more than look down at her. But the poor halfdemon was so tall, and Kagome was so short, all he could see was the very top of her head!

Kagome sighed.

Then, without any warning whatsoever, Inuyasha blushed uncontrollably. What triggered this? He felt a warmth leaning on his arm. Kagome's warmth.

'At least he doesn't _seem_ bad. Not at all, actually. I just don't know anymore... Why won't he talk? Well, he said he _couldn't_. But he also said he wasn't a mute. So is there another reason? There's gotta be. Otherwise there wouldn't be any reason for him not to talk to anybody! Arg... He's so confusing! And incredibly hard to figure out... But I guess that's what makes him have a certain air of...mystery...around him. It's strange. I like it, but I hate it! Hm... I must be pretty hard to figure out myself... I suppose that's _one_ thing we have in common. But is that alone truly enough to call ourselves friends? Maybe... Why am I thinking these things, anyway?! He's a halfdemon I just met!!!' Kagome thought.

Inuyasha nudged her gently. When Kagome looked up at him with questioning eyes, he merely looked at a house they'd come across. Except it wasn't just _any_ old house. It was the Higurashi Shrine.

"Oh. We're here." she said plainly. She turned to Inuyasha, remembering how he was eating his lunch out of a dumpster. "So, uh. Do you have any place to go? If not, you can stay here, at my place, for the night. I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind. They're really nice people. And I'm sure they'd love to meet you!"

Inuyasha looked longingly at the shrine.

"Then it's settled! You'll stay at my place!" she happily chirped. She immediately got hold of his hand and pulled him in front of the door. Then, as he awaited the big moment when he'd meet her parents, she knocked on the door. No turning back now...

The door opened. "Oh, hey, sis. Welcome home. How was school?" Then the boy who greeted them looked behind her. "Uh... Who is he?"

"Hey, Sota? Where's Mom and Grandpa?" she said, not bothering to answer any of his questions.

"They went out about an hour before you got home. Grandpa wanted to go to a new antique shop and Mom was worried about him going by himself. She ended up going with him. If Grandpa isn't sidetracked by all those antiques, they should be home any time now." Sota explained.

"Oh, yeah! Inuyasha, this is my little brother, Sota." then Kagome turned to Sota, "And Sota, this is Inuyasha."

The two shook hands, but Inuyasha still didn't speak.

"So, anyway, Sota, Inuyasha wants to stay here for a night. We'll be upstairs if you need us. Tell Mom and Grandpa when they come back, okay?"

"H-Hey wait!" Sota protested. A tad too late, though. Kagome was already leading Inuyasha upstairs.

"Uh... Okay then." Sota was left talking to himself. 'I don't think she realizes that Dad's back from work early today.' he thought.

Inuyasha couldn't help but sniffing all around Kagome's room. 'Wow...' he thought, 'Her scent is all over the place! It's like a... a, uh... What's it called? A Kagome paradise!'

Sweat drops appeared on Kagome's forehead. 'That's right... Sometimes I forget he's part dog demon... How long is he going to keep this up?' she thought.

Inuyasha, after several minutes and several good whiffs of her room, Inuyasha stood up and finally stopped. He turned and looked at Kagome.

"So, uhm... You ready to study yet?" she asked, trying her best not to mention that sniffing a human's room isn't a good first impression.

He pulled out his history book and set it down in front of him. Then he sat down and began reading.

Kagome did the same, but before she started reading, she thought, 'I wonder what he does when he has trouble. It's not like he talks to anyone. And none of the other students seem to like him, so they surely aren't going to help him.' Then she focused her attention on cramming her head with nothing but what's left of a bunch of now dead people.

After about an hour of history, they decided to switch to biology. Biology, for them, was about several things. The normal things, such as plants and animals. The human things, such as regular humans, monks, and priestesses. And then there were the demonic things, such as demons, demonic power compared to spiritual power, demonic auras, halfdemons, and a demon's strength compared to a human's strength. Oh what fun, it is to learn, a-a-a-all this!

When they were reading about the demon part, the full demon part, Kagome noticed how engrossed Inuyasha became. Did he want to be a full demon? Or a human? Or did he want to stay a halfdemon? She liked him just the way he was, and didn't think he should change a single thing about him. But in all truthfulness, it wasn't really up to _her_ what he wanted to do.


	5. Chapter 5

-Chapter 5-

Suddenly, there was a knock on Kagome's door.

"Hold on a second, Inuyasha." Kagome told him.

She opened her door. It was Sota.

"Sota?! What are you doing in my room?!"

"Sis, Dad's back!" he replied.

"Daddy? Daddy's back?! Where is he?!"

Sota looked down the stairs. "He's coming up right now."

Kagome shoved her little brother out of the way and ran down to greet her very much missed father.

Inuyasha heard, "Daddy! You're back!" "Hey, honey! How've you been?" "Good! Oh! And I've been studying hard in school!" "Well, you've kept up your end of the bargain, I suppose." "That's right! So come on! Where is it?!" "It's in the car." "Okay, be right back." Then he heard three pairs of footsteps heading down the stairs. He was happy for Kagome. At the same time, he envied her. He never even knew his father. He didn't even know what he looked like. His father had died when he was just a newborn. So he could never have the relationship with his father that Kagome could with her father. But he was happy that she was happy.

Kagome came back inside holding both a snow globe and a cute dress. She'd told her dad she wanted that dress sometime before he left for his business trip. He'd told her that she could have it if she pulled up her grades. The dress that was now Kagome's was a hot pink color with a red ribbon around the waist part of it. The ribbon tied into a bow in the back of the dress. In the front, it had a heart-shaped design with a few little hearts surrounding the big one. It tied around her neck and dipped right to the small of her back. The length was modest; it came down to the area right above her knees. It was a perfect fit for her.

Kagome ran to set her snow globe down and then rushed to the nearest bathroom to change into her new dress. The nearest bathroom happened to be Kagome's. Either it was that bathroom or her brother's... Gross. So she dashed right past Inuyasha so fast no one could see her.

Inuyasha heard skin and clothes scraping together. He knew she was changing into something. He just didn't know what.

"Hey, Daddy!" Kagome called out to her father from inside the bathroom, "I brought someone over for you to meet!"

Inuyasha tensed up. Although he knew that now was no time to be shy, he couldn't help but _not_ wanting to meet her parents... Everyone he ever came across hated all halfdemons. So, despite the fact that they were Kagome's parents, he was incredibly nervous. Probably a little _too_ nervous.

"Okay, honey! I'll look forward to it! If she's anything like Sango-" he started from downstairs.

"Oh, no! He's not a girl! He's a nice boy I met at school!" she yelled back.

There was an awkward, tense silence and Inuyasha suddenly found himself bearing the pressure of it. Somehow it felt as though he'd been conned... And on top of that, it didn't sound so much like her father "loved" the idea that there was a strange boy somewhere in the house... Oh, joy...

Kagome came out after a few stagnant minutes. "Well? How do I look?" she nervously asked Inuyasha.

He turned to look at her. And from what he saw... He might as well have been blown away. Literally. That dress fit almost _too_ well. No dress should be permitted to fit that well on _any_ girl.

"I'm going to take that as a, 'Yes, Kagome. You look simply ravishing tonight!'" she said, obviously having let her wishful thinking take control. She bent down and grabbed Inuyasha's hand. Then she pulled him up and dragged him downstairs to meet her parents. And of course, her grandfather. The two had come back sometime when Kagome was receiving her gift.

Kagome's father was waiting for her at the bottom of the steps when he finally saw his daughter. And then-behind her... There was a demon behind her... Why a demon?! Of all things! Of all creatures! A demon. No, no ordinary human! Just a demon. Oh, please say _this_ wasn't the boy Kagome was talking about!

"Hey, Daddy, this is the boy I was talking about!" she said cheerfully.

'This time I _know_ I'm gonna die! He's gonna kill me with his bare hands!!! Murder! Murder!' Inuyasha felt so tiny compared to her father. He unwillingly started to hide behind Kagome.

"_This_ punk is the boy?! Just _look_ at him! I don't know what you see in him, Kagome!"

"DADDY!!!!! We're _just_ friends! Nothing more! Geez! And he just so _happens_ to be very nice and polite! And he's quite a gentleman!" she retorted in Inuyasha's defense.

Her father leaned in for a closer inspection. "Kagome, I honestly don't approve! I don't like him!"

"W-What?! You don't even know him!"

"What's his name?"

"Inuyasha. Why?"

"Because if he's going to take you out on a date, I want to know where you're going, when you'll be back, what you're going to be doing-"

"DADDY!!! We're JUST friends!!!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Daddy!"

"I'm sorry, Kagome. I can't believe that."

"Why not?! 'Cause he's a guy?!"

"Yes, and because he's blushing."

Kagome turned around to look at Inuyasha. Yep, he was blushing all right. If a rainbow were red, Inuyasha's face would have all the colors of one.

"Anyway, he's going to stay for dinner tonight, so I expect you to behave yourself, _Daddy_."

"Me behave _myself_?! More like him behave _hisself_!!! Lord only knows what kind of shenanigans he'll try to pull tonight!"

"D-D-D-"

"And what if he tries to look through your underwear?!"

Talk about blushing and flushing... Poor Inuyasha and Kagome were getting drilled out there.


	6. Chapter 6

-Chapter 6-

That night at dinner...

"I'm sorry about the grilling you got out there... My father's a little nuts when it comes to boys. You were pretty brave not to run away with your tail between your legs!" Kagome said, "But, trust me, the interrogation isn't over yet. I know him and I bet a million yen he has a ton more questions to ask you. Oh, and another thing. He probably won't like you if you don't talk. So I'll just tell him that you're, um... The strong, silent type. Okay?"

"Hey! Kagome! Inuyasha! Dinner is ready!" Kagome's mother called to them.

"Okay, Mom! Be right there!"

Inuyasha was dragged to the dinner table in an instant. He could sense Kagome's nervousness when they got to the table. He was nervous himself, but for some reason she seemed more nervous than he was. Was the questioning really that bad?

After everyone sat down and started eating, Kagome's father said, "Inuyasha, you can call me Mr. Higurashi. As you're well aware, I'm Kagome's father. And I kid you not, if you _dare_-"

"DADDY!"

"Okay, okay. I...have a few important questions for you. I want you to answer them truthfully and honestly. Ready?"

"Um, Daddy-"

"Not now, honey. Daddy's trying to protect your chastity."

Kagome nearly choked on the food she was eating. 'Oh, man... Just go on and kill me!' she thought. 'Don't let me live to see this!!! PLEASE!'

"I'll go easy on you, since I know you probably aren't used to me. First, I want you to look at Kagome."

Inuyasha looked at Kagome, who was laying on the floor wishing she'd just die right now. But she still looked back at him and noticed he was almost too scared to move. Wouldn't really be a surprise if he crapped his pants right then... Beads of sweat were all over his head and she could tell he was trying to make it through the interrogation without any turbulence.

Kagome's father, Mr. Higurashi, inspected where Inuyasha's eyes were looking very closely.

"Hm..." he said, obviously both irritated and relieved, "Okay. Now I want you to answer my questions. First one-"

Kagome ran off and quickly hurried back with a pencil, in case Inuyasha made any mistakes, and a notepad. She shoved them onto him. Then she whispered in his ear, "You don't understand how important this is! You _have_ to answer these questions correctly! Think of it as a test. If you fail you get beaten to a pulp. But if you pass, then... I don't know! No one's ever passed before! But even if you don't mean it, just write down the answer you think will satisfy him."

He took the pencil on one hand and the note pad in the other.

"I see Kagome's explained to you the rules... Now I can start asking my questions. First one. Do you have a job or any way that you can support my little Kagome?"

Inuyasha began writing, suddenly realizing that not talking wasn't an option, but that writing was one. "No, I'm sorry... I know you probably don't want a boy who has no job to take care of your daughter, and I know how much you love her, but you said you wanted the honest truth, so..."

"Hm..." Obviously Mr. Higurashi was taking notes on how Inuyasha had answered, "Why don't you have a job?"

Inuyasha thought of an excuse. He wanted to write the truth, but he was afraid of the anger that he was sure would run through the house. He wrote down an answer, "I _chose_ not to get one. I figured I needed more experience so I could do better at the job I picked."

"Uh-huh..." Mr. Higurashi mumbled, taking more notes, "Do you have any family that can help you with any financial problems?"

Inuyasha looked down. This _was_ bad.

"Daddy! Don't ask him that!" Kagome yelled.

Inuyasha wrote down, "I'd rather not talk about my family life. That is, if that's okay with you..."

"Very well. Why won't you talk?"

"Um... Pardon?"

"Are you mute?"

"Well... No, I'm not a mute... That's something else that I'd rather not talk about."

"Hm. Now we'll move on to more serous subjects, seeing as you won't say anything about your personal life. What do you intend to do with my daughter?"

"DADDY!!! We're just friends!!!" Kagome was furious at her father now.

"Erm... Intentions, sir? I'm not sure. Nothing bad, rest assured."

"Nothing bad, you say? Do you have any plans to deflower my Kagome?"

"No! Never! Not at all! Not in a million, bazillion, gagillion years!" Inuyasha quickly wrote.

"Do you find my little girl attractive?"

"Attractive? Well, um..." Inuyasha couldn't finish up the sentence. Not when Kagome was around, anyway.

Her father seemed to know what was wrong. "Kagome," he said, "Could you give us a moment?"

Kagome got up and left.

"Now, about that question..."

"I suppose I find her...you know...cute...and pretty..." Inuyasha wrote. He was writing the truth.

"So a yes?"

"Yes, sir."

"And what about...sexy?"

"To a modest extent. Um, Mr. Higurashi, this is very uncomfortable for me."

"It's supposed to be. Do you make good grades?"

"I make all As and Bs. Although there was one time- no wait! Two times that I made a C. They were in Math class."

"Yes. Math is hard. Where do you live?"

"I...would rather not say."

"Hm, you're precarious aren't you?"

"Yes, sir."

"Are you intimate with Kagome? Even in the slightest?"

"Oh, no! No, sir! Kagome and I are just," Inuyasha paused for a second before writing, "friends."

"I can't believe that. Have you ever once touched her?"

"No. Not in a sexual way, of course. But other than just holding hands I think we haven't touched at all."

"Have you ever thought of her naked? Or nude? Or wet?"

"No! I don't have any further relationship with your daughter than an acquaintance!"

Mr. Higurashi seemed satisfied for the most part. "I'll let you off the hook for now. Eat up. Kagome! You can come back in, now!"

Inuyasha set aside his notepad and pencil and relaxed a bit, happy that it was all finally over. Or so he thought...


	7. Chapter 7

-Chapter 7-

After dinner, Inuyasha and Kagome went back upstairs to finish studying.

Seconds turned to minutes and minutes turned to hours. It was getting late.

Kagome looked up. 'I wonder if Inuyasha has a home... If he does, then why on earth would he have eaten out of the dumpster?' she thought.

Inuyasha felt her staring at him and looked at her with a questioning expression on his face.

"Um... Inuyasha? Do you have anywhere to go? Stop me if I'm being nosy, but... I saw you eating out of the dumpster and I was just wondering." she told him.

Inuyasha didn't answer. He was stunned by this sudden question.

Kagome once more handed him a notepad and a pencil. "You know, I've always thought that writing was never a form of talking. I think it's more of a form of..." she searched for the right word, "...art. Drawing. You know, because all you're really doing is just drawing lines and forming them into characters." She smiled at him.

He looked down, embarrassed over pretty much nothing. 'I can hardly believe how much she cares about me... It's unreal. But...I like it. I _want_ her to care. But why can't I talk to her? I really do want to, but... What's holding me back?' he thought.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. If you don't have anywhere to go, then why not stay here for the night? I'm sure I can talk my parents into letting you." Kagome beamed.

Inuyasha blinked in response. That had just about done it. Nobody ever treated him so kindly before. And now, this one girl, was making him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. He blinked several more times in order to clear out teardrops that had formed on the corners of his eyes.

Kagome got up and prepared a pallet for him to sleep on. When she decided it looked comfortable enough, she beckoned Inuyasha to lay down by patting on the pallet.

Inuyasha got the hint and laid down on the pallet. It was luxurious! Astounding! And so, so comfy... He almost immediately fell into a deep sleep.

Kagome watched him as he slept. Her father usually wouldn't approve of this sort of behavior from her, but these were unusual circumstances! She didn't have much choice in the matter! He was almost exactly like that stray dog she'd found some time back. She rolled over in her bed and slowly fell into a light doze, then into a light sleep.

_"Oh, Inuyasha! Did you get hurt?! They were picking on you again, weren't they?" a sweet, calming, female voice came._

_"Yeah. But I'm fine! I'm okay! Really, I am!" a young, innocent, male voice replied._

_"That's good to know."_

_"Hey, Mother? Tell me about Father."_

_"About your father?"_

_"Yes. I never got to meet him. You told me he died when I was born. How did he die?"_

_"Well, when you were born... Let's just say he protected me, okay?"_

_"Mother, I want you to tell me the truth. Everything. Please, don't lie to me anymore."_

_"...Okay. Your father's name was InuTaisho. He already had a son by the time I was pregnant with you. His son's name was Sesshomaru. Your father, unlike me, was a full-blooded demon."_

_"What kind of demon was he?"_

_"He was a dog demon. He'd just recently finished a tedious battle with another demon named Ryoukotsei. His wounds were great. When I was in labor with you, many castle guards grew weary of waiting to slay him. Somehow, they learned that I was birthing a child fathered by a demon."_

_"Was I the child?"_

_"Yes, you were. They despised the idea that they would soon have to protect a halfdemon, crowned as a young Lord. The army's general, who happened to have special feelings for me at the time, came into the birthing room, even though it was forbidden to men. He talked to me for a bit, though I remember not what he said. He killed me. _

_"How? You're alive now."_

_"Indeed. It was all thanks to your father. He came and killed off the army of men who were meant to slay him. He came to rescue me. By the time the general left, I was dead. You, however, had already been born. The general turned around to slay you as well, but was slain by your father. He revived me by using the Sword of Healing, Tenseiga. The last words of the general were, 'Burn the mansion to the ground!' and everyone did just that. I escaped unscathed, thanks again to your father. It turns out, the general hadn't yet died. He and your father died fighting each other. The last words your father told me were, 'Live long. And be strong with Inuyasha.'"_

_"I didn't understand much of what you said. But I did understand some of it. I was the reason for Father's death, right?"_

_"No! Inuyasha, that's not true!"_

_"Yes it is. It was because of me that Father had to come and protect you, isn't it? And everyone around here calls me a halfbreed. Mother, what's a halfbreed?"_

_"It matters not. But do not become one of them."_

_"I promise, I won't."_

_"Thank you."_

_"You're welcome, Mother."_


	8. Chapter 8

-Chapter 8-

Inuyasha woke up in a cold sweat that night. He looked over at Kagome, who was sleeping peacefully. 'It was just a dream...' he thought. 'Just a dream... That's all it was. No, wait. It wasn't just a dream. That was a memory. Of...Mother. I haven't had a memory of her in a very long time... So why now, then? Why would a flashback of my mother come right at the night I spent the night at Kagome's house?'

Kagome turned over in her bed.

Inuyasha looked up at her. She was sleeping just fine, so it really must not be much to worry about. He rolled over and drifted back off into sleep.

BBBBRRRRIIIINNNNGGG!!! BBBRRRIIINNNGGG!!! BBBRRRIIINNNGGG!!!

Kagome flopped off her bed and clicked the "off" button on her alarm clock. "Uuuurrrrggggghhhh..." she moaned. "I hate school days..."

Inuyasha woke up much more silently than she did. He calmly sat up and looked around. 'Oh, yeah. I'm at Kagome's house. I must've forgotten.'

"Inuyasha... Get up we gotta go to school." she said as though she were lazily talking to her little brother.

Inuyasha got up and went downstairs, waiting at the door.

Kagome, however, took the _longest_ time to get ready. When she finally came down, she looked great. "C'mon! We're gonna be late for the bus!" Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's hand and pulled him out the door to wait for the bus to arrive.

Inuyasha noticed she was rapidly scarfing down some yan pan bread. She hurriedly handed him some extra yan pan bread that she'd gotten before they left the house. He ate it, but was still baffled by how fast just one girl could eat. He found it somewhat charming and cute.

A bus went right past them.

Kagome spat out what was in her mouth to shout, "Hey! Wait up!" Then, realizing the bus wasn't coming back, she turned to Inuyasha. "I think we missed it." she concluded.

Inuyasha mulled it over. If they were to walk, they'd be late for school. Well, he wouldn't. He could very easily jump over and on top of buildings. And he could run fast, too. But he wouldn't ditch her. He bent down and looked at her.

"Hm? What do you want me to do?"

Inuyasha put his hands behind his back, making a seat for her.

"You aren't suggesting that I ride on your back, are you?"

Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders a couple of times, an obvious sign that he was beginning to get just a tad impatient.

Kagome quickly got the hint and climbed on.

As Inuyasha was practically flying through the air, Kagome was squealing with joy. "Oh, my gosh! This is so cool! I've never even ridden in a plane before! This is so much better, though, I can tell! Hey, can we do this every time we go to school?! This is so cool! So very cool! I love it! Why didn't you tell me you could do this before?! Oh, yeah! You won't talk! But that's okay! I'm thrilled!"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. He wasn't annoyed, but he just knew he should've expected this kind of behavior from a human. He liked impressing her, though. Perhaps it _would_ be a good idea to do this more often. He jumped onto a rooftop, to take a sort of shortcut, and felt Kagome instinctively putting her arms around his neck and holding her head close. He delighted in feeling her breath on his neck.

They finally got to their destination. Shikon High School. While Kagome jumped down, she read a sign that was posted on the entrance. "Hey, Inuyasha! Come look at this!" she happily cheered.

Inuyasha read the sign:

**_To all the students at Shikon High School:_**

**_The school is happy to announce that today is the day we'll be starting gym class! Everyone knows what happened to the last gym class we had, but know that we've finally rebuilt it! Starting today, gym class is officially the first class of the day. So, instead of going to your fist period as normal, you'll all be going to the designated gymnasium. It's right smack where the old one used to be, so there should be no getting lost! Also, today's usual lunch schedule has been changed. See today's lunch menu for further information._**

**_Sincerely,_**

**_All Teachers at Shikon High School_**

"See? Gym class! Speaking of which, it said 'rebuilt'. What happened to it, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha did nothing more than look away, ashamed to admit what really happened.

Inside, Kouga was interrupted from a conversation. He turned to find Kagome asking him what had happened to the gym in order for it to have had to be rebuilt. "Oh, yeah. It was pretty bad. The construction demons had to completely annihilate the remainder of the gym. And you said you wanted to know why? Well I'll tell you why! That _mutt_," Kouga pointed angrily to Inuyasha, "Destroyed it! And to think, we were just practicing, too! He singlehandedly tore down the entire gym. After that, none of us were safe! He went after us all. And how much do you wanna bet he's gonna do it again? I can already see it. People and demons alike running and pleading for their very lives. That halfbreed is a monster! You wouldn't believe how many students he slaughtered. You can ask him yourself. Hopefully this time, the safety room is reinforced. The that muttface won't be able to break in it again, unlike the last time." he explained.

"Inuyasha? No way. Inuyasha's a great guy. He's probably the gentlest guy I've ever met. There's no way he could kill anything. He wouldn't harm a fly." Kagome said on Inuyasha's behalf.

"Fly, you say? Maybe not a fly, but there was a fly _demon_ that was killed. Inuyasha's hands and clothes reeked of the scent of blood by the time he was through. A fly demon wasn't the only one. There were several humans, countless demons. I'm surprised our school wasn't emptied entirely!"

"What? That's aweful!" she said, "But I still don't think Inuyasha could do such a thing as you've claimed."

"Pft! If you don't trust _me_, then you can just find out for yourself. Today's gym class should be demon-slaying. And I'll lead you the safety room when it's Inuyasha's turn. Okay?"

"Does everyone need to be in a safety room when someone goes up?"

"Nope. Just when Inuyasha goes up."

"Oh, okay."

DINGDINGDING!!! DINGDINGDING! DINGDINGDING!!!

"Oh, there's the bell. See you in gym, Kagome. And unfortunately for us all, you too, halfbreed." Kouga glared at Inuyasha with his last few words.

All the students in school headed for the gymnasium. Each were equally eager to find out what the new gym looked like.

A/N

Notes on the food earlier stated:

*Yan Pan Bread: A small, round piece of bread soaked in a honey coating. The bread itself is somewhat sweet. It is most often used as a breakfast food.


	9. Chapter 9

-Chapter 9-

The gymnasium was astounding! It was enormous! Or, at least to Kagome it was.

"Hm. So they made it bigger, huh?" Kouga observed.

"It's _bigger_?!"

"Uh-huh. Not by too much, but yeah, it's bigger all right." he answered. "Like I said, today's gym lesson should be demon-slaying."

"Demon-slaying, huh? Too bad. This is Sango's specialty."

"Sango? Who's Sango?"

"She plans to become an expert demon slayer one day. She's my best friend."

In that instant, Kagome' attention was diverted by a teenage girl wearing a black suit and pink armor. She was carrying a giant boomerang called a Hiraikotsu on her back. With her was a two-tailed cat demon named Kilala. "Kagome! Look at this! I was transferred into the same school as you!" she said.

"Sango! I can't believe it!" Then Kagome turned to the cat demon, "Hey, there, Kilala! What have you been into lately?"

Kilala let out her copyrighted purr-whistle.

"Isn't that just the cutest thing, Inuyasha?" she chirped.

"Everyone! It's time for class! Take your number." the teacher sternly ordered.

Everyone but Inuyasha took a number.

"Alright. Now that you've all chosen your numbers, you should all know how this works. Number one! You're up first."

Everyone looked at their number.

"I'm up first!" Ginta claimed.

"Very well. Today's assignment is demon-slaying. We won't be using practice targets anymore, though."

"What?!" the entire class murmured, "You mean we're going to use _real_ demons?!"

The teacher overheard this statement and clarified it, "No. We won't be using real demons. A demon known as Naraku is extremely skilled in the art of demon puppetry. Therefore, we'll be using demon puppets."

"Uh, Mr. Sesshomaru?"

"Yes, Ginta?"

"What are demon puppets?"

"Interesting question. A demon puppet is a fake demon controlled by its master that resides from a distance away from the real battle. But rest assured, no matter how real they feel or look, they aren't real." Mr. Sesshomaru explained.

"Oh. Will we get hurt in the fight?" Ginta nervously asked.

"The demon puppets are controlled by their master, yes. But in essence, the puppet has every capability to injure, bruise, wound, cut, or even kill. In order to induce your self-defense instincts, the demon puppet you will be fighting against will be specifically fitted to your own weakness and strength. The demon puppet, however, will not hold back for any of you. And they will all fight like real demons. So, yes. You will get injured if you cannot find a way to defeat the demon puppet before it defeats you. Some of you may even be killed. That is none of my concern."

"O-Oh..." Ginta said, now disheartened.

From a large set of doors, a huge demon puppet in the shape of a centipede came out.

"Let the class commence...now!" Mr. Sesshomaru announced.

Immediately, the centipede demon puppet and Ginta, one of Kouga's groupies, started battling each other. Ginta hopped over the centipede in order to avoid one of its attacks. Ginta then bit the centipede demon puppet right on top of its head. The centipede demon puppet turned to dust and the winner was Ginta.

Ginta went back into the crowd to be congratulated, and so the next fighter could take a stand.

Number two happened to be Kohaku, Sango's younger brother.

Kohaku's demon puppet was a squid. The tentacles of the squid had countless spikes, rendering Kohaku unable to get close to its body. They, too, immediately started fighting. The squid was the first to take action. It slithered one of its spiked tentacles over to Kohaku, in an attempt to kill him. Kohaku dodged it and used the weapon he carried to slice it in half. The puppet turned to dust and the winner was Kohaku.

Kohaku returned to the crowd to be congratulated for his efforts.

Number three was Hokaku. He was best friends with Ginta and was another one of Kouga's groupies.

Hokaku's demon puppet was a wolf demon. He was a wolf demon himself, and never wanted to hurt one of his own. Therefore, this demon would normally prove to be challenging. The wolf demon leapt up and tried to mash Hokaku into the ground. Hokaku avidly dodged it, but got scraped in doing so. He shrugged off the injury and continued fighting until he punched through the wolf demon's body. The puppet turned to dust and the winner was Hokaku.

He, too, returned to the crowd to get the same treatment as those who went before him.

Number four was Kilala.

When she got up to the fighting stage, she caught fire and transformed into her much larger and much more dangerous self. She looked like a saber-toothed tiger with flames coming out of her four paws and twin tails. Her demon puppet was a rat. The rat transformed, too. It had four incredibly long fangs jutting out from either side of its mouth. It's ears grew much longer. Its fur turned to quills, and it became all the more faster. Kilala flew up into the air and used her claws and fangs to eventually bring it down. The puppet turned to dust and the winner was Kilala.

Kilala retired next to Sango, who was apparently next.

Sango's demon puppet was a giant worm. Sango put on her gas mask and prepared for battle. The worm, instead of attacking, dug underground, leaving a huge hole in its place. It circled Sango underground several times, sometimes surfacing to create yet another hole. Sango started to feel the ground heave. The very ground she stood on was starting to collapse! The worm wouldn't let it, though. It instantly shoved more dirt and soil and even rocks under the place where Sango stood. She felt the ground harden and stiffen under her.

The audience was watching and eating up every last bit of it.

"What do you think that worm is gonna do?" someone muttered.

"I don't know... But the more I watch, the more dangerous that worm looks." someone else replied.

The worm grabbed Sango with its long and slimy tail and pulled her into one of its many holes.

"Oh, no! Sango!" Kagome cried out.

After several minutes of being underground and not surfacing even once, the ground turned a hazel color. Both the worm and Sango burst through the ground in an uproar. Sango was riding on the worm's back.

This unsightly scene made everyone crack up. It was like they were at a rodeo. And a demon slayer was riding a demon worm! Sango took her Hiraikotsu and split the worm in half, from head to tail. Everyone knew why it had to be from head to tail. Worm demons could be split in half from the center, but then they'd reproduce by both halves regenerating, causing two worms to be formed.


	10. Chapter 10

Early A/N

Hey, readers! Before Chapter 10 starts, I would just like to say to my anonymous reviewer **Liz**: "You are _by far_ the _worst_ reviewer I've _ever_ had!!! _You_ don't like the story? WELL DON'T POST IT ON _MY_ REVIEWS!!! Go somewhere ELSE and complain!!! Your review has been DELETED forever! And how could I _not_ take what you said as an insult?! HUH?! That said, I FORBID you from posting your aweful reviews on ANY of my stories! The INSTANT I see them, they'll be deleted! Are we clear?!"

And for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, **Liz** said in her review, "I don't get why people keep telling you your story is good. It's not. I don't know how old you are, but you write like an 8-year-old." And that was just ONE of the things she/he said! There were many more that I honestly don't even want you guys to think. (How the heck am I supposed to write a story with THAT on my mind?!) So from now on, if any of you get a review from **Liz**, you can bet all the money in the world it'll be bad. So WHAT if my story is choppy? WHO CARES?! It's the plot that matters! Besides, (and this is just a little note to all of you *sorry if I'm harsh, but I'm pretty ticked off right now!*) if you DON'T like the story, then the solution is EXTREMELY simple! DON'T READ IT!!! See? Not that hard, is it? (You HEAR that **Liz**?!)

Okay, now let's start Chapter 10, shall we?

-Chapter 10-

Sango returned to the crowd to have her "pat on the back".

Number five was Bankotsu.

He pridefully walked up to the fighting stage and drew out his large sword. His demon puppet was a deer.

"Psh! You're giving me a _deer_?! What on earth am I supposed to do with that thing? Go hunting or something?" he yelled.

"Hey! It's better than an earthworm!" Sango shouted back.

Bankotsu didn't even wait for the battle to start. He just used his sword and killed it like that. "There... I'm done..."

He went back to the crowd and only a handful of the students waiting congratulated him.

Number six was up now. Number six was a monk named Miroku.

"M-Miroku?" Sango glared.

"Huh? Who's Miroku, Sango? How do you know him?" Kagome asked her said friend.

"Miroku is the biggest pervert on the face of this earth... He tries to grope women every time he gets the chance, meaning every time he spots an opening."

"Ew."

"Yeah, I know, 'Ew.'"

Miroku's demon puppet was a praying mantis. 'Hm... I can't use my Wind Tunnel. The edges of that mantis's arm will pierce it.' he thought. The mantis swayed back and forth, waiting for Miroku to make the first move. He calmly walked up to it. It waited still, swaying back and forth. 'It's waiting.' Miroku thought. He took out a Sacred Sutra and threw it at the mantis, rendering it unable to move. He then walked closer to it. He started climbing the mantis until he was directly on top of its head. He put a sutra on the spot in front of where he stood. Then, he used his staff to bash the mantis's head in. Then he jumped down right before the mantis turned to dust. It was obvious that the winner was Miroku.

He returned to the crowd for his own "congratulations".

Number seven. Kagome.

"Oh, wait! I'm up already?! B-But I'm not-"

"Spare me." Mr. Sesshomaru said.

"Huh?"

"You. Your record shows that you've taken Archery classes for several years now, right?"

"Um... Well, yes, but-"

"Then you should have no problem slaying this next demon puppet."

"O-Okay."

Kagome's demon puppet was a swallow. It wasn't very big, and the entire class looked like they were about to erupt in laughter. 'Well, in the words of Sango, it's better than an earthworm. I suppose...' she thought. The swallow wasn't going to attack her at all, but its dodging skills were amazing. Kagome drew her bow and positioned an arrow on it. She pulled the arrow back, as though ready to fire at will. That swallow was darting around _everywhere_, though... She almost couldn't aim. She was literally running all around the room trying to get a good enough aim. After a good ten minutes, both of them were about as tired as tired could be. Kagome, though exhausted, raised her bow and arrow once again and shot it. The swallow was hit with amazing spiritual power.

She dragged her feet back to the crowd and was practically applauded. She sat down next to Inuyasha and Sango. "Oh my gosh. I never want to do that again!" she said exasperatedly.

Number eight was Kouga.

Kouga got up and smirked as he made his way through the crowd and up to the fighting stage. His demon puppet was an ostrich. He had the most confused look on his face.

Mr. Sesshomaru noticed this and said, "I've taken notes on how fast you are, Kouga. You might just meet your match with this demon puppet."

"Humph! Like I care! I'm all ready to fight!" he cockily replied.

Kouga speedily dashed in front of the ostrich, cornering it. He leapt up, but before he could do anything else, the ostrich was all the way on the other side of the room. 'What?! How is that even possible?!' he thought. The ostrich seemingly mocked him with a strange sound that it made deep in the back of its throat. It sounded like a cow was trying to yak up something rotten that it ate, but couldn't get it out of its system.

The entire class cracked up.

"Hey! _You_ wanna try going for this guy?!" Kouga retorted.

Everyone immediately shut up.

Kouga turned his attention back to the ostrich. 'If I can trick him...' he didn't even finish the thought before the demon puppet had been beaten, courtesy of one of Kouga's legs.

Several other people went up.

Number seventy-nine was Shippo, the fox demon. Also known as a kitsune.

Shippo's demon puppet was a mirror demon.

"Shippo. Since you use fox magic to defeat your foes, a mirror demon is perfect, being as it is also an illusion. Therefore, it will reflect all of your fox magic. What will you do, then?" Mr. Sesshomaru asked.

Shippo had no time to ponder it over. The mirror demon, which looked exactly like a snake demon covered in mirror scales, leapt up at him and tried to sink its fangs into him. Shippo used his Heart Scar at that instant. Nobody knew he'd learned that move. The mirror demon puppet was turned to dust and the winner was Shippo.

Everyone else went up. Then, the one person who didn't have a number. The one person who _never_ had a number. Inuyasha.


	11. Chapter 11

-Chapter 11-

Inuyasha bravely went up to the fighting stage, knowing all too well what what the outcome would be. When he got up there, he turned around and waited.

Two guards, which happened to be a mongoose demon and a human, directed the students up the stairs to the new safety room.

"H-Hey wait! Don't shove me! Inuyasha!" she cried out. But the crowd of students pushed her back. Now Kagome was going with them. For some reason, Kagome had a very bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew something bad was going to happen...

The students were all led into a very large room. The whole front wall of the room was just one big fiberglass window. Reinforced steel bars were in front of it. The window was put there obviously so the students could see through it, in order to watch the battle. But it looked as though there was another reason why the window and bars were there. It looked like they were put there to prevent someone or something from getting in.

The room was otherwise empty. The only objects there were the students themselves.

Once the guards were sure everyone was safe inside the safety room, they bolted down the steel door.

Kagome had a front-row seat as to what was happening. Even though she was high off the ground, she still, for some reason, didn't feel safe. She watched as the two guards who escorted them went to a smaller safety room and bolted down that door, too. She noted that Mr. Sesshomaru was inside that particular room. The room he was in, though, had a bunch of controls behind the window.

Mr. Sesshomaru spoke into the megaphone, "Students! No matter how alarming this scene may get, do not! I repeat, do _not_ depart from the safety room!" then he turned to the guards, "Increase your numbers! And tighten security! After that, get out the chains!"

There were a total of one hundred guards. Each guard had an extremely powerful weapon. They were all wearing high-quality armor as well.

One of the guards came up to Inuyasha. He was holding several chains. There were also more guards that came up, each holding several chains.

Inuyasha sighed and held out his foot first. He knew the drill.

The guard dropped all the chains and put the clasp around his foot. He kept pressing on the clasp until it clamped down. Then he struck it several times, to make sure it held up at least a little bit, if nothing else.

"Why does Inuyasha need all those chains put on him?" Kagome asked.

"I already told you. Those chains may be the only things keeping us alive. For now." Kouga answered.

She pressed her head to the window, wondering what in the world was going on.

The chains, after a good ten minutes and ten guards, were all finally on him. There were two chains each around each of his feet, four chains around each lower leg, two chains around each wrist, nine chains around each arm, three chains around his waist and stomach area, one chain around his neck, one chain on each finger, and two chains around his chest.

Each chain was connected to a hole in the wall. Each chain had its own separate hole. At first, the chains were tight, but when Sesshomaru pushed a certain button on the controls, the chains went slack, allowing Inuyasha to move freely.

Inuyasha's demon puppet was a meerkat. Meerkats had extremely long claws and unreal fangs. They were related to mongooses and ate everything from scorpions to snakes. In essence, they were nasty little critters. So one could only _imagine_ what they'd be like as a demon. And as a demon puppet? More dangerous. One false move and the puppet could take someone's head off.

'Kagome... I must apologize for what you're about to see.' Inuyasha thought.

"You know what I think? I think they're taking this whole thing _way_ too far." Kagome said bluntly.

"Like I said, if you won't believe me, then find out for yourself. I'm just thankful they have a better safety room this time!" Kouga replied.

Several students nearby agreed vehemently.

Kagome looked back down.

Inuyasha was preparing to fight the meerkat demon puppet.

The meerkat lunged at Inuyasha, but he avoided the attack. The meerkat slammed into a wall as a result of the dodge, but meerkats are resilient and it shrugged it off as though nothing had happened. It lunged at Inuyasha again. This time, though, Inuyasha didn't dodge in time and the meerkat's sharp claws ripped out a chunk of flesh. Blood splattered everywhere.

"No! He can't move with all those chains on him!" Kagome was horrified.

"That mutt'll be fine. For the most part." Kouga tried to console her. "It won't really matter if there are chains on him or not. Dogbreath right there won't fight to save his pathetic life."

"Hm..." a worried Kagome mumbled.

The meerkat never stopped its barrage of attacks. Eventually Inuyasha got hit with its super-fangs and its razor-sharp claws. His wounds were deep, and his life was now hanging in the balance. It would be no exaggeration to say that Inuyasha was clinging to the last strands of the threads of life.

"Naraku. Don't continue just yet. It's time." Sesshomaru ordered.

"Yes. I do believe it is, Sesshomaru." Naraku agreed. He momentarily stopped the demon puppet he was controlling.

Kagome watched, wondering what was happening. That bad feeling she had in her stomach the whole time was getting stronger and stronger every second the battle continued.

Sesshomaru's eyes widened. What he'd just seen... Just as quickly as it was made, the demon puppet was slaughtered. By who? None other than a ruthless monster.

"K-Kouga... W-What's happened to Inuyasha?! I thought you said he _wouldn't _fight!" Kagome shrieked.

"I did. But that isn't Inuyasha. Inuyasha's a halfdemon. He has both human and demon blood coursing through his veins. But! When he's backed into a corner to the point where his life is in danger, his demon blood takes control of him. I speak of protecting oneself. If any other full-blooded demon finds themself in a hopeless situation, they can remain calm and find a way out. But Inuyasha is a different story. The pure demon blood of his father is too strong for a halfdemon such as himself to handle. Therefore, he cannot maintain reason. He cannot recognize himself. He cannot differentiate between friend or foe. When he transforms like this, he becomes a demon. A demon who only knows how to fight, and how to kill. He'll keep fighting until he himself is destroyed. They've been trying to get him to fight for some time now. But one day, they pushed him too far. His life was in danger, so he transformed during practice. Back then, we had no safety room. There were no restrictions of any kind, unlike now. Inuyasha mercilessly slaughtered demon and human, one after another. His intent was clear: he wished to slay every demon and human in this school. Why? I suppose that's what you're wondering. We demons delight in brutally slaying an enemy. But we have control over our bodies. It is that same desire to kill that was his motive. But, he cannot control it. His demon blood, too strong for him to control, takes over and feels that same delight and pleasure that we normal demons feel. The demon blood in him wants to kill more and more to obtain that pleasure. So it keeps killing. The only way he was brought back to his senses that time was because when he ended up destroying the gym, a broken plank of wood fell on him, jamming itself into his belly. It actually knocked him out and left him unconscious. When he came to, he was fine and back to normal." Kouga explained.


	12. Chapter 12

Early A/N

Hey, there readers! Please read my reviews first, okay? If you spot ANY offensive phrases (especially by a person named Liz/Youaskedforit), please report them. I've already done that. I've marked it as Language/offensive phrases. Please help ban this person from reviewing me. This is why. It's a PM I received after a conversation with her. (She claims to want to help me):

"You know what? You're absolutely right. I should totally leave you alone. And now I know why, and I see the light. I should leave you alone because you're an idiot. And idiots can't accept help, or see that they're idiots, and they certainly can't write fanfiction. So you just sit there, with your ** excuse for fanfiction, and your retarded obsession with deus ex machina, and your braindead reviewers and report me. Report to your heart's content. Because this isn't my real account. And I'm an author with dozens more reviewers as well as a dedicated fan base. And I spread help and advice to young authors, younger than you, and they take that advice and become better writers and smart people like their stories and they aren't stupid little ** suckers like yourself. I tried to help. I really did. But I guess you showed me! Happy writings!

And your parents divorced because of you. You're a bratty little ** that thinks she's so great and smart and they got sick of being with each other because they were so depressed that they created you. So they got divorced and they argue with who has to keep you. Not about who gets to, but who has to. And then they think about giving you away."

-Chapter 12-

Kagome looked back down, letting Kouga's words sink in.

Inuyasha was chained up still, but he was slicing at the window to the safety room Sesshomaru was in.

Sesshomaru leaned into the microphone to speak, "Tighten the chains! Quickly!"

Suddenly, the chains that bound Inuyasha were no longer slack, but tight. Because of this, he was thrown back into the center of the room and was practically being stretched.

Inuyasha was struggling to move. Every instinct in his body told him to break free, to move away from this impending danger.

"Ready your weapons!" a guard shouted, knowing well what they needed to do to change him back.

Several guards surrounded the halfdemon with spears, ready to stab him on command. They were right about to sink their weapons into him when... C-C-C-CREEAAAKKKK... And then what sounded like a siren... EEEEEEEEEEEEKKK... They turned around and noticed the chains were beginning to come out of the holes in the walls. They turned back around and saw Inuyasha's arms and legs beginning to bend at the joints. He was breaking free. The chains wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.

"Hurry! Don't just stand there gawking! Stab him!" Sesshomaru urged.

The guards all raised their spears at the same time. "Let's get this over with." one of the guards said.

The other agreed.

"Yeah, I have to ge-GLUUH!!!" The guard was stopped short by death.

Everyone's attention snapped to Inuyasha. He was laughing.

"He just slayed him! And he's laughing!" Kagome said, shocked.

"I know. That's what he did to the rest of the school that last time. I already told you, demons feel pleasure in slaying an enemy." Kouga replied.

Kagome looked back down in sheer terror.

Inuyasha was now finished slaying the other guards that surrounded him. He continued laughing in obvious delight.

"Don't just stand there! Get him!" Sesshomaru ordered.

All of the guards took their turns battling Inuyasha, but to no avail. Each knew Inuyasha was too strong to be tamed like this. He'd have to bring himself back to him on his own, if he were ever to return to his old, real self. After slaying every one of the guards, he started breaking the chains. Each chain that was clasped to his foot, leg, arm, wrist, waist, and chest were sliced through. The only other chain was the one that remained around his neck. It was a special chain, though. One that didn't look like it would break easily. Inuyasha lifted a single claw up to his neck, to the area where the chain was. His claw glowed bright yellow with the very power it stored. He tried to slash the chain, but it wouldn't budge. His claw's power dissipated. He used it to pick at the lock on the chain.

'No!' Sesshomaru thought alarmingly.

Inuyasha leaped up, free of all his chains. When he landed, he started looking for a new target to kill. There were none in sight... Other than, of course, the people inside the two safety rooms. He tried to slash at the one Sesshomaru was in first. It was lower than the one Kagome and the other students were in. His claws released a lot of power as they worked hard to slice through the demon-proof glass. Finding he couldn't so much as scratch it, he turned around to face the other safety room.

He smirked a quick and cocky smirk as he ran across the room. He had to keep jumping up in order to reach the window of the safety room. Once he was at the window's height, he'd whack at it with his demon claws. He kept this up, doing it over and over and over. Then, finally... The supposedly demon-proof window started to crack. If it were to break with Inuyasha still transformed, no one inside would be safe, and the safety room would fail to live up to its name.


	13. Chapter 13

-Chapter 13-

"Stand back, Kagome!" Koga ordered. "That mutt is a ruthless murderer! It's not safe with him around!"

"I'll do what I want! Maybe he's like this because everyone but me treats him horribly!" Kagome protested.

"I don't quite think you get it..." he mumbled to himself.

"Well so what if I don't?! Inuyasha won't hurt me!"

"He can't think right when he's like that."

"So? I'm sure he can recognize things!"

"No, he can't. If dogbreath can't even recognize himself, you can forget about him recognizing anything else."

"But I-"

"You saw firsthand what he did to those guards!"

Kagome backed down, knowing there was no real way to win the argument. Everything Koga said was true. She gasped and quickly stepped back when one of Inuyasha's claws broke through the glass.

Now he was left dangling there by one elongated claw. Furious, he tried pulling his claw out, but to almost no avail. Finally, he punched through the glass.

Everyone stood back and most of the boys, including Koga and Miroku, moved up to forma sort of barrier. They were protecting the girls and other boys.

Inuyasha growled-laughed. He pulled his hand out, but hung onto the hole. He tried separating the glass. In doing so, several iron beams that were built into the school's walls collapsed from the immense pressure he was putting on them. Then clouds of stuff came our from the walls. It looked like smoke or dust. The entire front wall of the safety room started to sink.

Inuyasha had gotten a clean strip peeled loose. Now the glass was split in two, with a jagged divide between the two peices. Inuyasha smirked. He knew what was happening. He was going to get a good killing spree in today, that's what was going to happen.

"Inuyasha..." Kagome said in a hopeless tone.

The wall in front of them could only take so much damage. Looks like it was up... The entire front wall collapsed on Inuyasha, the huge broken peices of wood catching his skin and haori and pulling him to the ground.

Kagome was the first to run up and look over the edge. Inuyasha couldn't be seen. He was obviously buried underneath all that rubble. "Inuyasha!" she called, hoping for a response.

"Stay calm! We have specialists on the job!" Sesshomaru announced.

Soon after he said that, many strangers came in. Everyone just assumed they were the specialists. They went in, digging through junk and planks of wood and iron. There was also the glass. The supposedly demon-proof glass that didn't live up to its name. After an our, they brought out a body. Kagome knew it was Inuyasha's body, but it was unrecognizable from the height they were at.

"Students, you may come down now. The safety room's door should open from the inside, even when it's locked." Sesshomaru said.

Kagome shoved past everyone else and hurried down. She burst through the door and ran over to where Inuyasha lay unconscious from loss of blood. "I-Inuyasha..." she choked out.

"I don't see why you care about _him_." Koga spat out his name.

"You must be kidding!" she angrily defended. Tears were streaking down her face.

Inuyasha snapped out of his unconscious state and slowly got up. He was back to normal. But he was so weak he was shaking, trembling, almost vibrating.

Kagome turned around and saw him. He was bloody and there was a slack of wood penetrating his side. She watched him put his hands around it and start weakly pulling. "No!" she instructed, "Don't do that! You'll lose more blood!"

Inuyasha was, by now, too weak to care. If he died, that wouldn't be sucha bad thing. He was sick of being treated so badly. He could only take so much before he snapped.

"Inuyasha...why didn't you fight?"

He could feel himself starting to lose consciousness again. 'Fight...? But the last time I fought was-' he slipped into a comatose state before he could finish his thought.


	14. Chapter 14

-Chapter 14-

_"Hello, dear. Oh! You're hurt!"_

_"Ghrrrrr..."_

_"What happened to your face?"_

_"Hr...Grar...."_

_"Honey? Are you alright?!"_

_"Rrrrrrr..."_

_"Inuyasha, dear? Is something wrong?"_

_A young boy around the age of five or six stood in derangement as his mother desperately tried to console him. But Inuyasha was far beyond her reach by the time she walked up to him. _

_"Are you sick, dear? That might explain the strange markings on your face and your red eyes. Come now, let's go to the healer's village, shall we?"_

_"Grrrrrr... Hur..... Rah...."_

_"You mustn't growl as such. You know how the villagers react to such an action."_

_The boy's, mother, Izayoi, bent down to take his hand. Her young son looked up at her with an extremely intimidating look._

_"Inuyasha, I love you."_

_The boy sliced through his mother's chest with his unnaturally long claws. He turned to look at his mother's remains. Blood and flesh were scattered everywhere. Each peice of flesh had its own pool of blood that it was sitting in. The sight, combined with the smell, of his mother's carcass overwhelmed even the demon inside him. He transformed back._

_"M-Mother...? No... What have I done?!" he cried out. "MOTHER!!!"_

Inuyasha jolted up. He was breathing heavily and tears were threatening to fall. He was in pain, but he hardly felt it. His heart, however, felt heavy and tight. It felt as though someone was squeezing it. Hard. A huge gaping wound had been bandaged up and cleaned. His shirt was nowhere in sight. Although the shirt was the last thing he was worried about. 'It was...my mother's death. I remember now... I-I-I killed her...' Inuyasha lifted a hand and sniffed it. 'The blood...' he thought. 'The blood is still there. I can still smell it. It's my mother's blood. No matter how many times I try, I can't get it off!'

Kagome walked in holding a bucket of warm water. She looked up from her reflection in the water to find Inuyasha trying to get up. "No!" she said. "You're still too weak to move! You should stay put and rest up." She smiled her best reassuring smile at him.

Inuyasha managed to get up. 'Kagome could easily be next. I can't let her suffer the same fate as Mother!' He limped pitifully past her.

"Inuyasha! Your wounds still haven't healed! They'll reopen if you don't stay still!"

'I don't care! I don't care about myself! Don't you realize this is for your own safety?! If I die, it'll be a good thing...' he thought. He continued towards the door leading out of the place he was in. He looked around and noticed it was Higurashi Shrine. Kagome's home... 'I haven't spoken since Mother's death... I couldn't. I remember what made me change. The villagers were trying to kill me. I was hit with one item too many. The villagers were slaughtered one by one. The only one left was my dear mother... And she, too, was slain. She was slain by the hands of her own son!'

'He looks angry... Why?' Kagome thought. She could do nothing to stop him. So she watched him make his way out the door and outside their property. 'Maybe he wants some time to himself... Even I want some time to think every once in awhile. I just hope he's gonna be okay. But he's a big boy. He can take care of himself.' She chuckled at this thought. She looked out her window and saw Inuyasha in the distance. He was holding a bouquet of beautiful flowers. She grew suspicious of this.

Inuyasha sped through forests and plains and even creeks and rivers and brooks. He flew through a small swampland. And then...his destination came into view. He stopped at a small, modest, and humble stone. Enraved in it was a, to him, very revered name. The stone said, "Izayoi". This place he was at was his beloved and missed mother's gravesite. He bent down and placed the flowers in front of the tombstone. He raised both hands and put them together, praying.

Kagome watched him for several minutes. 'I wonder what he's doing here...' she wondered. She allowed her mind to stray off course and onto another course. A course called, "Inuyasha and Kagome Forever". In her thoughts, she unintentionally slid one of her feet across the ground and it hit a small rock, causing her to trip and fall. "Yow!" she yelled. It didn't hurt too bad, but she was startled.

Inuyasha heard her and turned around to find her on the ground. He came over to her as she was trying to pick herself up.

_Now_ the pain was setting in. She couldn't put much weight on her ankle. "Oof!" She fell down again.

Sensing something was wrong, he looked at her ankle. It was swollen and still swelling.

"Something's wrong with my ankle, Inuyasha. Is it bruised? Oh, right... You won't talk, will you? I don't even know why I'm asking these questions..." Kagome picked herself up and leaned on one leg against a tree, inspecting her foot. It was bruised, just as she'd suspected. "I don't know if I can walk without pain..." she concluded.

Inuyasha mulled over the situation. He couldn't find a solution that didn't involve him touching her in some way.

"What were you doing at that grave over there?" Kagome wondered out loud.

Inuyasha's attention snapped back to her. He didn't- no... He _couldn't_ look her in the eye. Not after what he'd done to his mother.

"Talking isn't a bad thing, you know." she continued.

Inuyasha looked over at the grave. A huge lump formed in his throat. Now it was literally impossible for him to speak. Tears worked their way to the corners of his eyes. His heart started aching again. This time worse, though.

"Inuyasha?"

He walked over to the grave.

Kagome followed him. She could only hop on one leg; she couldn't actually walk. "Hey," she stated when she got over there, "This grave has 'Izayoi' engraved in it. Izayoi is a girl's name."

More tears revealed themselves in Inuyasha's eyes.

Kagome saw the tears and said, "Is she a loved one?"

Inuyasha wiped his hand over the portion of the stone below the characters that spelled "Izayoi". Now, new characters took shape. They said, "Mother".

"Izayoi was your mother? It looks like you carved that into the stone yourself."

Inuyasha continued to stare at the words.

"How did she die?" Kagome quickly regretted saying that when she saw the pain and guilt in Inuyasha's eyes. "Oh... I'm so sorry... I can tend to be nosy sometimes... I'm sorry." She looked down.

'It's okay... I forgive you. But I can never forgive myself.' he thought in response.

"I really want you to talk to me, Inuyasha. I really do. But I just want you to know it's okay if you don't want to talk. I won't even ask why you don't talk, okay? But I do want you to know that I wish you would trust me enought to talk to me. I trust you enough with anything. I trust you enough to tell you my deepest secret. Well, actually I don't think I really have any secrets... Other than my fear of dogs... But I guess that wouldn't really be qualified as a secret, would it? Anyway, I just want you to know that I trust you more than I've ever trusted anyone else outside of my family. I don't know why. But if you ever need help, or if you ever are in trouble, or if you just want to get something off your chest and talk about it, I'll be here for you. I know you're probably upset about gym class, and I am, too. But it's not like it's your fault... You couldn't help it. Koga explained everything to me. He said you couldn't reason with anyone or anything and you couldn't recognize even yourself. He said you couldn't maintain control. If that's true, then I don't think it was really you out there. It was your demon side, wasn't it? I know you would never harm me or anyone else. Isn't that one of the reasons you never fight? I have to admit that I didn't feel safe with that stranger out there, taking your place. But then you shoved the stranger out of the way and you were you again. I wanted to thank you for that but you passed out before I had the chance to. So thanks."

Inuyasha looked at her in amazement. This was definitely something new.

"And also... There's one more thing I'd like to clear up. I've just now noticed that you've never once touched me. I don't know if you're scared of me or anything, but it's not like I'll bite. The only time I've been able to feel you is when _I _touch you. I know you think that if you even talk to me, I'll be mad, but I won't be. I'd be happy. And you can touch me, too. I won't be mad. You don't have to, I'm just saying. But if you want to, then go ahead. I don't have a problem with it. As a matter of fact, I think the only person who would have a problem with it would be my dad. But he's just a nutcase, so don't worry about him, okay? But, you know... If I'm being too bossy or too nosy, even if you don't wanna talk, find some way to tell me. I don't want you to think I'm just some bossy, soiled brat who always gets her way. I've had too many people think of me that way. It's not true, though. You, of all people, should understand that. You do, right? And I hate how people at that school treat you. They act like you're a monster! But you wanna know what I think?" She looked at him.

Inuyasha didn't realize just how engrossed he'd become in Kagome's speech. Everything she was saying was true.

"I think," she continued, "that you're a sweet, fun, charming, sophisticated, strong, smart, intelligent, eager, loving, loyal guy who can do anything he sets his mind to. You're one of those people that, once they get to know you, want to be your friend forever. I know I do. I also think that you're mistreated. I think you should be treated like a prince or something. Actually, anything would probably be better than the way you're treated right now, right? I think so. But...that's what I think. It's really all what you think."


	15. Chapter 15

-Chapter 15-

Inuyasha looked down, letting everything Kagome had said sink in. It was all true, and he knew it, but for some reason he couldn't help but disagree with it. Such as "the demon was attacking them, not you" idea. Wrong. The demon was a part of him; it was part of who he was and it was part of his genetic makeup. Therefore, it would have been safe to say that that was no stranger out there. And the fact that it had happened more than once? Probably not a coincidence. Nevertheless, he appreciated Kagome's trying to cheer him up. It was almost as though she'd known just what to say and do all along. And, it seemed to lighten the pain he was feeling.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome said, interrupting his thoughts. "You wanna head back? It's gonna get late soon."

He nodded, looking back just once more at his mother's grave before leaving. He would probably come back in the morning. And when he did, he'd probably bring flowers. It was literally the very least he could do for his deceased mom.

* * *

"M'kay! Inuyasha, guess what! I got a surprise for you!" Kagome merrily told him.

He merely looked at her, still not quite ready to speak yet.

She rummaged through her drawer. "Oh, shoot..." she said in disappointment, "Inuyasha, do you mind doing me a favor? Could you run out to the store and see if they have any...uh...any...any..." She thought of something to say, "...any..." She kept thinking, unable to come up with any excuse to get him out of the house."Well, actually, my mom wrote down a grocery list. Here." She handed him a small notepad on which held the list of objects he was supposed to find and bring back.

He took the list and looked at it. 'Milk, eggs, ramen, shrimp, tomatoes, chicken.' he thought as he read it. 'Doesn't seem too hard. I can be in and out of there in no time at all.' He recalled when his mother had taught him how to shop long ago. Even way back then, he still remembered it. 'Way back then...' he thought. 'Oh! That's right today is the day of my birth! How old am I again? Hm... Let's see here. Last year was that one time I found a cupcake and the year before was the time I found a couple of doughnuts. So that would mean I'm...two-hundred and fifty years old.' He realized he'd just reached the supermarket. Lost in his own thoughts, he must've walked subconsciously to the place. He went inside and started his food hunt.

Meanwhile, Kagome was very busy. Her surprise needed to be washed. She was gonna wrap it, but she'd gotten so excited about Inuyasha's expression when she gave it to him that she'd forgotten to keep it a secret. She threw it in the washing machine and turned it on. The grocery list should keep him pretty bust for a few hours. That would give her plenty of time to prepare for tonight. But she knew she'd feel rushed when he would come back. She'd given him money right before he left, so he should be fine in that aspect. She got busy preparing a meal fit for tonight. "Hey, Mom!" she yelled. "Can you get the other things set up? I got the food covered!"

"I'll have to get your father to do the outside things!" a female's voice was heard.

"Mom! I don't care what you do, but we have to get this done before he comes back!" she answered.

"Huh? Where'd he run off to?"

"The grocery store! We needed groceries anyway and I needed to get him outta the house!"

"I'll have Sota clean the spare bedroom!"

"Perfect! Thanks, Mom!"

"You're welcome, dear! And it's nice that you're doing this for your friend!"

"'Kay, Mom! Let's get started now!"

The last thing anyone heard, other than rustling and vacuum cleaners and all sorts of other different things was, "Sota! Clean the spare bedroom, would you? Higima, hurry up with the outside things, okay? Chop, chop! Let's go!"

Inuyasha was having a hard time weaving through the demons and humans to get to the almost-sold-out shrimp. There was a centipede demon that was extraordinarily long. It was like waiting in traffic for God-only-knows-how-long. Point is, it wasn't fun. But all things considered, it was the least he could do to help them out. He somewhat liked it in there, though. All those different smells and sights. They were different from 245 years ago.

* * *

At long last he finally got everything he came for! All that waiting and looking and searching had finally paid off. Now all he had to do was battle his way through the checkout counter. Even more fun he got to go through, right? After the checkout counter he could simply bound home. Home? 'Home?' he thought. 'Did I really just imagine Kagome's house as...home?' He recalled the last time he really had a place he could call home. It was with his mom. She was truly the only person besides Kagome that had shown him kindness. Whether it was just from maternal instinct or because she didn't care that he was halfdemon or not, he appreciated her so much. And then, just like that, he'd lost her. The way the villagers treated him stunned his mom. But in her eyes, he was all that mattered. In all honesty, he hoped that one day he could settle down and have a family that he could support and be happy with. Kagome wouldn't be such a bad mate, after all. 'Aw! What am I _thinking_? Kagome could surely find a man with more to offer than me. I'd say she at least deserves that much, if nothing else. I'm getting worse than that monk at school! And he always says he has good morals and values... Feh! Morals... Yeah right. But then, look at me. I'm sitting here thinking about how good of a mate Kagome would be!' He slapped himself in the face for thinking that way about Kagome.

"Sir, would you like to check out now...?" a droning voice said.

Inuyasha looked up to see that everyone before him had went and it was his turn. By the looks of the clerk's face, it had _been_ his turn for quite some time. He went up and started the process of 'checking out'.

Kagome was having a horrible time. "He'll be back any minute now! Isn't _anything_ done yet?" she screamed to no one in particular.

"Sis, we've done everything you've told us to! _You're_ the only one who's not done yet. Don't take it out on us!" Sota screamed back.

"Oh-hu-hu... _Why_ did I have to cover the _food_! I stink at cooking!" By now she was beyond frustrated.

"Kagome, dear, you aren't bad at cooking. _Or_ baking, for that matter." her mom tried to reason. But everyone knew it was useless to reason with her once she got like this... Sota always wondered why on earth their mother tried to reason. She _knew_ it wouldn't work, but she did it anyways. He'd always passed it off as 'one of the great and unsolved mysteries of the universe'.

Finally, after a few last-second touches, a ton of help from the entire family, and a spilled glass of milk, the stage was set. "Everyone turn off the lights!" they all said at the same time. Sounded more like a chorus singing than instructions. They scrambled about turning off lights and finding a good place to hide. It was a hilarious scene, if not for all the pain that no doubt was involved. Kagome bumped into her grandfather and her grandfather fell backwards and bumped into her mother, who fell forward and landed on the floor, making her father trip over _her_ and fall on Sota, squishing him.

Inuyasha walked up the stairs that lead to the Higurashi Shrine. He was still wounded from earlier, but he was a halfdemon and had recovered enough to go places and do stuff. He was actually following some arrow-shaped decorations made of twigs and other rather unrecognizable things. Once up the stairs, he found footprints created from chalk and paper cutouts and a bunch of other things. He didn't put his feet on them, thinking they were for someone else. And he didn't want to ruin them either. They looked hard to do.

He sniffed the air once he got within a few feet from the house. As usual, there was an enticing scent coming from it. But this time it wasn't Kagome's scent. Well, it was. There was another scent overpowering it, though. Therefore, Kagome's scent was hardly noticeable.

He followed to footprints to the front door. They ended here. He opened the door only to find complete and total darkness. Assuming everyone was already asleep, he started toward the kitchen. He didn't take two steps before...

"SURPRISE!" Everyone popped out of random hiding places. He almost dropped the bags he was holding.

Sota was laughing his little head off. Kagome was walking up to help take the bags. Kagome's mom was doing the same. The grandfather, ironically, was headed toward the kitchen. The father was leading him to a seat at the table. It had already been decorated with a very colorful and eye-catching tablecloth. On top of it were a few gifts and some plates and bowls that had been set out. There were oddly-shaped cups. But overall, everything looked fun. Balloons were everywhere, which probably made it the most fun.

Kagome came back and told Inuyasha that Mr. Myoga had told her today was his birthday.

Inuyasha, still stunned from the events currently unfolding, could only nod. He still felt no urge to speak. Perhaps another day, in another time. But not now.


End file.
